A Kassing and a Prisoner
by Katilady
Summary: Zaria Stone has just gradated from the Auror Academy, only to find that she is assigned to Azkaban, to guard one prisoner, the man who gave away the Potters.  Can he convince her of his innocence and to help him escape or will love get in the way?  SB PoA
1. Assignments

a/n  
>Disclaimer: All characters and themes that appear in the Harry Potter franchise are owned by J. K. Rowling.<p>

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><p><strong>-.-<strong>

**A Kassing and a Prisoner**

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_Chapter 1: Assignments_

This was supposed to be the most fulfilling day of her life. Ever since Zaria Stone was a small girl, walking through the Great Hall and sitting in front of the entire school of Hogwarts to be the newest member of the Gryffindor family, she wanted to become an auror. She had never had any doubts and worked diligently in all of her classes. Her confidence in her career grew when she realized she had a knack for Defense Against the Dark Arts, particularly protective spells.

With this knowledge it did not surprise her that during her NEWT, the examiner asked her to step to the side after completing the test. He did so to closely examine her strongest spell, _expecto patronum_. Her patronus was nothing special compared to many whose had taken the form of dazzling and exotic creatures; hers was simply a shaggy dog. Despite this, she could think of nothing else that would suit her better, because a similar dog had been present at a turning point in her life.

One night the summer she turned eleven, the summer before her first term at Hogwarts, she was awoken from her slumber by a loud crack in the middle of her street. She ran into the living room to find both of her parents sobbing in each other's arms.

"Mom? Dad? What's wrong? What happened?" she asked innocently, confused at their grief.

Her mom opened her mouth to answer when a neighbor came flying through their back door.

"Kelle, he's outside. He let this happen to the Potter's and he is standing right outside our houses!" the neighbor almost wailed.

With set determination on her face Kelle Stone walked straight out of the house to view the commotion that had woken Zaria, followed by her husband and daughter.

There were two men standing in the street, wands at their sides, but it was obvious there was heat in the words that were exchanged between them. One man was tall, slim, and had thin, curly hair that veiled his face. His jaw was set, extenuating his strong facial features including his brown eyes. He was the first to raise his voice.

"You betrayed them!" the tall man shouted. "They trusted you and you betrayed them! And now they are dead!"

He was directing his hatred toward a short, plump man that had rat like features. They seemed to be the same age, but the latter man was paler and looked much less healthy than the first. He had straight blonde hair and his hearty cheeks distorted the bones in his face. Spit flew from between his buckteeth whenever he countered the tall man's statements.

"Ah, but Sirius," the small man said, "they did not trust you, which is why they trusted me. How can you live with that?"

They both raised their wands, and the air was illuminated with a sick color of green. Zaria had to shield her eyes because the green seemed as if it could be powerful enough to take life away. Once the hue had subsided the short man was gone. Leaving the tall one, Sirius, with nothing but the look of bewilderment on his face. The look magnified once he noticed the stares of the onlookers were all focused on him. He ran, and you could faintly hear the loud crack of someone apparating in the distance.

Immediately her parents covered Zaria's eyes and lead her back inside, back to safety, hoping that their child remained unscathed after witnessing such a traumatizing event. However, before Zaria's eyes were blinded by the gentle caress of her mother's hand, she saw a black shaggy dog in the bushes, looking onto the scene with an almost human look of interest and sadness. It was then that she realized that she wanted to protect people from incidents like the one she just witnessed, it was then that she confirmed that she wanted to be an auror, and it was then that the dog reminded her that one can always find safety in others.

These thoughts came to her every time she conjured her faithful ghost of that shaggy dog. It was also playing through her mind when her eyes met the NEWT examiner's, which were fixed with a questioning look.

"I'm sorry," Zaria said, "did you ask me something?"

"Yes, Ms. Stone, I asked if you were going into the field of Defense Against the Dark Arts once you graduate from Hogwarts," he said, flitting through the papers in his hands as he was talking. "Ah, here it is, your application into the Auror Academy. This would be a very nice suit for you, I believe."

"May I ask why you say that, sir?" she questioned.

"My dear, isn't it obvious? You have the most powerful patronus I have seen in years. It may even rival Professor Dumbledore's," he said, with a smile.

"He is an excellent teacher, and I can only hope that my patronus is half as strong as his," Zaria replied.

"And humility gets added to your list of strengths, I can see you going far with your career Ms. Stone, very far indeed," he praised, causing blood to rush to Zaria's face.

"So I take it that I passed?" she said, almost in a singsong sort of way.

"With flying phoenix feathers," he said, turning on his heel to allow her to be alone with her thoughts.

It was all coming true, finally. Her dream was one step closer to becoming a reality.

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Once Zaria had gotten to the Auror Academy, she had been received with open arms. She befriended a girl named Nymphadora Tonks on their first day at the Academy and had been close ever since. Tonks had assisted her with their concealment classes and Zaria was Tonks's go to sparring partner. Today was the day that they would graduate and get their assignments.

"I am so excited, I could roll up into a ball and die!" Tonks exclaimed, turning her skin a sickly pale color, and graying out the irises of her eyes.

"You act like your seventeen all over again, graduating from school," Zaria laughed, enjoying Tonk's playfulness.

"But it's my dream to live and fight against Voldemort. Can you imagine? Working for the Ministry, joining the ranks of Kingsley Shacklebolt? Cutting down Death Eaters? What a fulfilling lifestyle to lead!" she exclaimed.

Zaria shared in her excitement, but she was nervous about her job assignment. It would be the ultimate disappointment for her not to receive a position she strived her entire life to achieve.

"What if we don't join his ranks Tonks? What if we get a desk job or something, or are asked to work in the delves of the Ministry?" she worried aloud.

"Zee, you can't be serious here," her friend said, eyeing her with a particular brand of sarcasm known exclusively to the easily disguisable girl. "With that super powerful patronus of yours, you have to be placed in a position of protection. The aurors would lose a powerful witch if they stuck you behind a desk."

The compliment abated her worried feelings, as was her friend's uncanny ability to have such an effect on anyone she was around, but the ghost of the discomfort lingered in the back of her mind like a parasite.

As they walked up the stone pathway to the entrance of their academy, she regarded the students that would be graduating with her, all as excited as Tonks was but some with the same shadow of doubt that she felt. She hoped that all of their training would be put to at least some good use.

The students gathered in an enormous, semi-circular hall with a small stage at the front and space enough for their guests to conjure whichever seat they would most prefer to view their graduation ceremony. The walls of the hall were a cream drywall, intermittent with mahogany boards spaced about six feet apart. The floor was covered in evergreen carpeting, and now it was filled with graduates changing into the ceremonial crimson robes of aurors to be.

Auror graduations had been the same ever since the academy was first founded. The graduates would line up according to their rank in the class, lowest to highest. The headmaster would then conjure an item that he thought would be fitting of their new career, hand their wand to a wandsman to brand and alter to suit an auror, then they would be told their new position. It was exciting for everyone, including the guests, for they came not only to see where their loved one would be placed, but what amazing jobs would be given to the aurors in training they had been hearing about.

"Are your parents coming, Tonks?" Zaria asked, half to abate her nerves, half because of genuine interest.

"Like they would miss this," Tonks said, eyes rolling. "They've waited for this moment as long as I have."

As if on cue, the Tonks's walked in, smothering their daughter with affections.

"Mom… Mom. Mom! Mo- please stop that," Tonks said with playful pushes. "I'm twenty-two and you're treating me like it's my first trip to Platform 9¾."

"Hello Mr. Tonks, nice to see you again," Zaria said, while Mrs. Tonks was busying herself trying to convince her daughter to not wear electric hair to her auror graduation.

"You too, dear," he said kindly. "Have your parents arrived?"

"Only my mother is coming," Zaria explained. "Muggles are not allowed on the premises, but my dad gave her a camcorder so he could pretend to have been there."

"I can't believe a camcorder is going to be at the Auror Academy. If Arthur were here, he would flip," Mr. Tonks said, laughing.

Zaria spotted her mother walking in, and so did Tonks.

"You look so much like her, Zee, it's ridiculous," Tonks said, almost admiringly.

It was the truth. Zaria had her pale skin and her long hair, dark to the point where brown almost becomes black, and her sparkling crystal blue eyes. Their thin noses came to a dull point the same way, and what should have been considered high cheekbones on some gave their faces the shape that they desperately needed. She was much taller and thinner than her mother, however, and that could be attributed to her lanky father.

She turned to her side to see that Tonks had become almost a mirror image of herself.

"Stop it," Zaria laughed. "My eyes are not that round and my cheeks are not that rosy."

Tonks reverted back to her normal fuchsia hair color and mousy features, almost with a look of hurt on her face.

"One day you are going to admit that you are stunning, and that will be the day when you finally accept the graces of a wizard," Tonks said, her voice teasing, her eyes serious.

"Can we please not discuss this here? Today?" Zaria asked in a strained tone, turning to hail down her mother.

Unfortunately, right as her mother rushed to meet her, the graduates were asked to come to the back of the stage.

"I'll see you afterward," Zaria silently mouthed to her mother before following Tonks and the others to their appropriate place.

The nervous energy rose to an uncomfortably high level as she passed from the front of the stage to the back. The graduates were loud and talking about anything they could so that they could be quiet enough to remain patient through the ceremony. It was going to be a long hour for everyone.

"Zaria, I was only trying to cheer you up. Your negative energy is making me feel rotten," her friend said.

"I know Tonks, but it's always the same, and I get it from my mother enough without having to be getting it from you," Zaria explained.

"I'll drop it, for today, but it's going to happen for you soon, and I want to be there to relish in it," she said, giving the biggest smile she could muster, which literally stretched from ear to ear.

Zaria stuck her tongue out at her, like Tonks had done to her waiting in line to enter the academy for the very first time. Tonks smiled and settled into her seat, patiently waiting for the headmaster to enter.

As he opened the doors to the hall, a silence fell over the witches and wizards gathered inside. It even stifled the nervous whisperings of the crimson clad aurors to be. He walked with a firm grace, strong but unyieldingly elegant. His eyes were thunderstorm grey and his hair was long, thick, and jet-black, his bangs almost covering his eyes. He was tall and a slim waist was situated under very broad shoulders. He was only eight years older than the graduates, but he had wisdom beyond his years, wisdom he had earned the night he received the thin wisp of a scar that spread from the left corner of his mouth to the opposite temple. Taking his place at the back of the podium, he turned to address the gathered crowd.

"An auror's graduation does not mark the end of their training, their learning, or their experience. It marks the beginning of a new life, a life of service and protection in which they will learn more in one year out there than the five they spent at the academy. This class has been one of the few to pass through my school that will leave it better than when they came. They have changed the way in which we teach, their fellow students, and their loving faculty," the headmaster said, gesturing to the graduates, earning them a round of applause.

"We all know why we are here then, to support them, because without the support of the people who love them, an auror could never face the trials that await them beyond these walls," he continued. Zaria's mom caught her eye at this moment and nodded, shaking her camcorder in the process.

"Therefore, without further ado, let us commence the ceremonial process of becoming an auror," the headmaster finished.

At this point, a door behind the stage opened and everyone rose to greet the man that each of them had shared a moment with when they first began magic. Mr. Olivander walked onto the stage with a bit of difficulty considering his age, and accepted the respectful silence he was given with a small nod and a smile. He took his place to the right of the headmaster and gestured for him to begin.

All of the graduates stood, Zaria filed behind Tonks at the end of the line, considering their excellent exit exam scores.

Tonks turned to whisper, "It all comes down to this doesn't it?" smiling like it would kill her if she couldn't.

Zaria gave a huge sigh of exasperation. "Yes, yes I do believe it does."

As she was answering, the first graduate was conjured a brass paperweight by the headmaster. This meant a desk job.

"They only give desk jobs to the front of the line," Tonks sang under her breath, making her hair color even more vibrant than before.

She was mostly right, but Zaria had a feeling that this would be the last time that she would ever see her friend like this. There was something that told her that they were not going to get assigned together.

Student after student graduated this way, all receiving items, all having there wands branded, all being told how they were going to assist the magical community, that was, until it was Tonks's turn.

"Nymphadora Tonks," the headmaster said, smiling with a calculated smile. "For you, one of my star pupils, I conjure a fear glass. It acts as a boggart would, showing you your true fears, for you are going to have to face them all being a protection auror for the Ministry of Magic!"

The crowd erupted, a new protection auror, the job everyone strived to get was just given for the first time in three years, and it was to Zaria's confidant. Tonks squealed, hugged the headmaster, and ran off stage before Mr. Olivander could brand her wand. She was called back on stage, to her embarrassment, and remained still until the branding was over. Looking up, she caught Zaria's eye and rolled her eyes with excitement.

"Thank you Ms. Tonks," the headmaster said, smiling, and turning to face the lineup of graduates once again. He gestured for Zaria to come forward.

"Zaria Stone, top of your graduating class. For all of you who do not know, Ms. Stone has one of the strongest patronuses to have ever passed through these halls," he complimented, to a quiet applause.

"For you, I conjure this," he said, holding out his hand. It was a picture, a picture of her when she was eleven, the day she got her acceptance letter into Hogwarts, the day she found out she was a witch… The happiest day of her life.

Zaria's heart dropped, she knew what this meant.

"This photo captures your happiest time, you strongest memory, for we are going to put your skills to good use, for you will become a kassing!" he said, turning to the crowd.

Not a soul in the room applauded. Zaria looked to her mom to see her eyes filling with tears as she slowly dropped the camcorder to her side. One spilled over as she tried to force a smile.

Zaria's heart was broken, her life was over, she had been chosen to be a kassing, a warden for the dementors who guarded the wizarding prison, Azkaban.

Her life was over before it even begun.

"Your wand please, Ms. Stone," Mr. Olivander said, and she handed it over reluctantly, looking to Tonks to find her eyes were streaked with tears, same as her mother's.

Minutes seemed to turn into hours as Zaria's brain began to move again, began to make sense of what she had been told. She scanned the crowd, allowing the sadness in everyone's eyes to enter her heart as she slowly turned back to the headmaster.

"Now, because this is such an important and strenuous job, we must ask you to leave at once for Azkaban to start your training," the headmaster reported.

"Now?" she pleaded, receiving her wand back. "But I haven't said goodbye…"

"There is no time Ms. Stone," he said. "I'm sorry."

As he ended his speech two other kassings entered the door to accompany her.

"Mom! Tonks! Help!" she struggled as the kassings approached her. "I- wha-… NO! STOP!"

"It would be easier if you complied, Ms. Stone," he said, sadness in his eyes. "This is the way it has to be."

Zaria turned to face her loved ones wildly, as the kassings took her arms.

"Mom, Tonks, I lov—," she began to say, but the loud crack of apparating cut off the rest of her sentence.

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a/n

Thank you for reading. This is my first fanfic and I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I am enjoying writing it. Please read and review! I would love to hear your thoughts on the plot/how the story was set up, etc.

-Katilady


	2. Azkaban

a/n  
>Sorry for the delay in getting Chapter 2 online! College really takes a toll on you... Hope you enjoy it!<p>

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**A Kassing and A Prisoner**

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_Chapter 2: Azkaban_

Zaria was afraid to open her eyes. In her mind, she still saw Tonk's tear streaked face, still saw the camcorder by her mother's thigh. She still knew that her loved ones were in an arm's reach. Instead, she felt a cool breeze on her hands, and a light mist on her face. She felt rough hands on her wrists, and heard gruff voices behind her, but she refused to believe it was true. Zaria had to hold onto her fantasy that she created.

"I know this is tough, Ms. Stone, but we have to continue," the first kassing said. "Your headmaster was right when he said that we had to get started immediately."

It was then that she allowed her eyelids to open, to let the walls she was hiding behind fall. She expected to see the prison walls, but this is not what greeted her whenever her eyes adjusted to the light. The three of them were standing on a coastline, littered with rocks ranging from pebbles to boulders, decreasing in size as you neared the water.

Zaria took a deep breath before she spoke, trying to sound calm. "Wh-where are we? Why are we on a rocky beach?"

The first kassing shook his head. "You have so much to learn, young kassing. Firstly, my name is Soren and that is Payson," he said, extending his hand.

It seemed strange to Zaria to accept the hand of a man who had just taken her away from her family, but she did so anyway, gritting her teeth as she did.

As she shook his hand, she finally took notice of the strong man's features. He was tall and had an athletic build filled out with lean muscle. His head was crowned with dark brown hair, and his chocolate eyes popped against the tan skin of his body. He had a slightly large nose, but that was made up for with perfect white teeth. Soren was already showing wisdom of a person far superior in age than Zaria, but he was physically only four years older than her. His handshake showed his strength, but she shook back vigorously to answer.

"Ah, you have some nerve I see. As much as you don't want to hear this right now, that is one of the most admirable qualities of a kassing, Ms. Stone," Soren said.

"Secondly, to answer your question, Azkaban has many of the protective enchantments that Hogwarts has placed upon it, namely that you cannot Apparate to or from the premises," he continued.

He began waving his wand, as he did so wood and nails began to spring forth from the tip, forming a structure in front of him as he spoke.

"Therefore, we must take a non-magical means of transportation in order to get to the island. In this case, a boat," he said, completing his spell.

She looked at his feet, and a small boat with three seats stood on the rocks, about ten feet from the shoreline.

"We use boats because there are almost no natural resources on the island, and if a prisoner were to escape, there is no way that one of them could get off the island without a wand or a boat, and we destroy the boats. It's one of the many protective measures we take in order to keep the wizarding community safe," he said, with almost a sense of pride in his voice.

Zaria still couldn't stand it, couldn't understand how someone could take pride in being a… a prison guard. It was almost worse to her than being behind a desk at the Ministry. Instead of joining the ranks of Kingsley Shacklebolt, she joined the nameless aurours… The ones nobody could remember because they were rarely heard from, or rarely did anything newsworthy or important.

Or she could say that she had joined the ranks of all of the famed criminals in wizarding history… She would now be associated with Death Eaters and those who Voldemort had beaten out to become the Dark Lord. She would be in a place surrounded by misery, surrounded by evil, and she would be without anyone she cared the most about.

How could she ever cast a patronus in this place? How could she keep the stuff that made her who she was? Even now, she felt like she had another presence in her mind.

"You get used to it," Soren said, breaking her train of thought. She then realized why her thoughts didn't seem private.

"Excuse me," Zaria said. "It's rude to perform occlumency on a person's private thoughts, Mr. Soren. I really hate to inform you that."

"It's a habit, Ms. Stone. I'm the resident occulmens at the prison, and your thoughts were just so open and so vivid, it was almost painful for me to not sneak in and see exactly what you were thinking," he concluded. "I will try to refrain in the future."

"That would be appreciated, sir," she said, straining the sir, although she wasn't quite sure if she should address Soren as a superior or as an equal.

"Shall we be getting on then?" Soren suggested.

They climbed into the boat, the quiet Payson at the front, Zaria in the middle, and Soren at the rear.

"Welcome to your new life, Zaria," he said, pointing his wand at the water, making the boat begin to move outward from the shore.

She closed her eyes as she felt the spray of the water again, allowing herself to drink in her last bit of freedom before she became a prisoner of Azkaban.

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As the sun was nearing the water's edge, she began to see a dark shape take place on the horizon.

"Is that it?" she asked to no one in particular.

"Yes, that is Azkaban. Maybe if you didn't refer to the place as 'it' it would be easier to accept that that will be your new home," Soren said.

"Yeah, like that'll happen. My home is with the people you took me away from," she said, bitterly, staring at the island.

As the boat neared the prison, its features became more prominent against the sunset sky. The building was a square, with four towers marking its four corners, all made out of dark grey stone. Four stories of cells made up the sides of the structure, a window for every cell. It was all done neatly, purposefully, which seamed to strike Zaria as ironic for it housed the messy and purposeless.

"We have capacity to hold about four-hundred prisoners here, although currently we only have one-hundred and eighty. Each wing of the prison holds prisoners admitted for different crimes. North is for the thieves and deceitful, east is for the destructive, west is for the murderous and admitted Death Eaters, and south is for the criminally insane. There is also a courtyard in the middle of the prison where each wing is allowed one hour in the open in order to relieve their stress and to get some fresh air. This is also where all of the Dementor's Kisses are performed, as a warning to all those who do not behave in Azkaban," Soren said, already beginning her training.

She hadn't even thought about witnessing a Dementor's Kiss.

"Who authorizes the kisses?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"For incidents occurring outside Azkaban's walls, the Ministry of Magic. For occurrences in Azkaban, we do," Soren said, immediately regretting his brazenness.

This was more than Zaria could handle.

"You're saying that I have to get plucked from my family to a job that nobody wants just to be given the opportunity to _kill_ people!" she screamed. "I can't do this!"

Her blood was rising, her heart pumping, her hand already reaching for her wand in order to find some sort of escape, when a calmness came over her.

"Feel better?" Soren said.

"Yes, Mr. Occlumens…," she said, realizing that he had manipulated her feelings. "Why do you do that?"

"Everyone of us has gone through this, Zaria. We understand how you feel, and all we are here to do is to help each other and to help the citizens of the wizarding world. If your headmaster feels that you can best do this by being in Azkaban, protecting your loved ones from the most dangerous, then that is something that you will have to accept, either your own way, or my way," Soren said, tapping his temple. "And my way will be fake."

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As the boat came upon the island, Soren steered the three to a smooth part of the bluff. The boat then started to increase its speed rapidly, heading directly towards the rock's face.

"Soren! What are you doing?" she screamed, as the boat was about to slam into the rocks.

What she pictured as a tragic ending to her short life became a smooth pass from the ocean to a tunnel surrounded by dank stone.

Soren laughed. "It's Azkaban's own Platform 9 ¾, but I loved seeing your reaction. It was priceless."

Zaria gave him an intense stare with her pool like eyes.

"I'm glad you find my terror amusing, Soren," she retorted succinctly.

"When you live side by side with dementors, you take every laugh you can get," Soren said, finally revealing a bit of what life inside the prison was like.

When she turned her attention away from the older kassing, she finally got a chance to take in her surroundings. The tunnel they were in opened up to the center of the square prison, a large commons area with no ceiling that framed the clear yellowish sky of the sunset. The ground was full of wizards and witches moving with no particular purpose, all clad in black and white striped robes. These were guarded by about four kassings, each wearing a purple robe with black trim to denote their position of authority.

These people were standing on a flat surface, the center a square of neatly trimmed glass. It turned to smooth pavement as you exited the center and came toward the walls of the inner courtyard of the prison. The river they were on cut the commons diagonally. There were various objects strewn about the area, such as balls, a few chess sets, and some cauldrons. Zaria guessed these were used as pastimes for the prisoners.

"East Wing, your time in the Commons has come to a close. Please exit the area and file into the Front Hall for dinner," a monotone voice rang out over the prisoners.

They began to exit the boat right as the prisoners began to move out from the Commons. Zaria was the last to leave the safety of the wooden vessel, and as soon as her second foot hit the pavement, she noticed a prisoner became aware of their presence. He put down his chess piece and began to dart toward Zaria, the stripes of his robe becoming grey with his speed. She screamed, crouched, and stood her ground as the prisoner made his way toward her. An incantation fresh on her lips, she raised her wand when the fire in her seemed to fall right at her feet. The prisoner seemed to lose his fire as well, and began to slow to a stop. Searching for an explanation, they all turned to see a black, hooded figure floating across the commons.

She had never seen one so close before, a dementor. It was huge, human-like, but the only thing you could see through the pieces of black fabric were its huge, grey hands that were extended by long, spindly fingers. It floated in between the man and Zaria, and she felt the world darken and turn cold as its presence was depleting the Commons of all happiness. The creature's hooded head seemed to stare at the prisoner intently as a warning of what would happen if he continued his escape. After this, it seemed that all the prisoner could do was turn and continue with the rest of the prisoners to the Hall for dinner. Once the prisoner complied, the dementor turned and receded to the crevices of the prison.

"That happened sooner than expected. Are you okay, Zaria?" Soren asked.

She shook her head, as if to get her mind thinking straight again.

"Yes, I'm… I'm fine, I believe," she replied, unsure.

"Have you ever experienced a dementor's presence before?" he asked.

"In small doses at the academy, but never that close. How are we supposed to warden them?" Zaria said.

"They respect us. It's hard to explain. It's almost like they know we aren't here to hurt them, just to guide them back to being good, and they want to help us. A very unusual, but beautiful relationship, indeed," he concluded, obviously lost in thought himself.

Once he had gathered himself, he held out his hand to Zaria.

"Come on, it's time for the grand tour," he said, trying to sound as cheerful as possible to abate Zaria's tangible anxiety.

They bid goodbye to Payson, and Soren led her to the corridor that the prisoners had filed through only moments before, and found herself in a room comparable to Hogwart's Great Hall. There were only four tables in the square room, however, unlike the Great Hall's, they were arranged in a square. In the center of the square was a witch who had prepared food for all of the prisoners. She was doing her job with the biggest smile on her face, the only smile that was visible in the entire room.

"This is the Hall," Soren began. "It is the first room you see once you pass through the foyer at the visitor's entrance to Azkaban. This is where the prisoners receive their three daily meals, all one wing at a time. If you pass through these doors to the left, you will enter the North Wing, and through those doors on the right, you will enter the East Wing."

Soren began walking forward, "However, through these front doors is the visitor's entrance and the Kassing Office. Follow me."

Following Soren, she walked through the double doors at the head of the Hall. She saw the glass door that looked outside to the shoreline, now framed with purple that the sun had disappeared. Next to the glass door was a receptionist area fashioned out of wood where a person would welcome the loved ones of the incarcerated. Presently there was a sign that denoted visiting hours where that person should have been.

"Visitors are allowed in Azkaban? Doesn't that defeat the purpose?" Zaria asked.

"Only prisoners housed in the North and East wings are allowed visitors," Soren replied. "You must remember, this is the only wizarding prison, so all wizards, no matter the severity of the crime, are housed here."

Soren then steered her to the right to a door opposite of the receptionist area. The door read "Kassings Only", and they walked straight through. She looked around to see a very relaxed atmosphere. At the head of the room was a desk that had folders marked for each kassing, each prisoner, and each disciplinary action. In front of the desk were five very plush armchairs with a table situated in the center. There was a lavatory off to the left and a kitchenette off to the right.

"This is where you spend your break time, Zaria, conversing with the other kassings. It's our own little haven of normalcy in this crazy place we call Azkaban. Be sure to make yourself at home," he said with a smile. "Do so while I try to locate your assignment."

Zaria looked around, trying to imagine this place during the day, lively and full of kassings such as herself. Maybe if she could befriend these wizards like herself, then she could find a way to survive being placed here.

"Here it is," Soren said, holding up a folder marked with her name that he had retrieved from the desk. "This is your assignment, what wing you will be placed in for the next year."

"What do you mean?" Zaria asked.

"Each kassing gets placed in a particular wing for one year, relative to the amount of prisoners in that wing. Naturally there will be more kassings in the North and East Wing because they have more prisoners in those wings. You will be personally responsible for all of the prisoners in your wing and make progress reports on them, which we will explain in fuller detail later. Your quarters will also be in the wing that you currently monitor. Make sense?" Soren asked.

"Yes," she said, laughing, "finally something that does."

"I'm glad you are so eager to start working then," he said, his perfect teeth framed by a genuine smile.

He opened the folder, and his smile fell a little at the corners.

"Oh no… What is it?" Zaria said, afraid that two pieces of bad news in one day would be too much for her to handle.

"You are assigned to the South Wing, the wing of the criminally insane. Currently we only have one prisoner residing in that wing, so you will be the only kassing monitoring it," Soren said, with a little strain in his voice.

"That shouldn't be too bad, then, Soren. Why are you so concerned?" Zaria asked.

"The prisoner housed in the South Wing, he's famous you see. It's Sirius Black," Soren said.

"Sirius Black?" Zaria said, confused.

Then it all came back to her. The summer before she went to Hogwarts. Two men on the street in front of her house. "Killed the Potters". Flash of green light. "Betrayed them". The dog.

Soren looked up from the files, his face covered with a look of concern.

"You okay, Zaria?" he asked, brown eyes searching her face for solace.

"Yes, it's just… He has a place in my past. Not a good one at that," she replied, her voice cracking over the last sentence.

"Do you need some help dealing with it?" he asked, tapping his temple.

"No, it would be better for me to take it as bluntly as I can," she said, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that she was going to be guarding the man that changed the course of her whole life.

"I admire your bravery," Soren said, with an amount of sincerity that almost made Zaria worry. "A few owls arrived earlier with your things and they have already been delivered to your quarters in the South wing. Are you ready to see it, or would you rather stay here in the office for the night?"

"I think I'll be fine there, but thank you. The sooner I can get adjusted to life in this prison, the better it will be for me," answered Zaria.

She had tried to make her voice steady and eager, but one tear escaped from her eye. It was the only tear that she had allowed herself all day, but it signaled more. The last thing she needed was to cry in front of Soren, who had been nothing but kind to her.

"Zaria, you don't have to hide your true feelings from me," he said, his words enveloping her in comfort. "You already know that you can't."

This made her smile.

"Thanks for your help today, really. I know I haven't treated you very kindly," she began.

"I understand. It comes with the territory," he said, flashing that smile again. "Shall we off?"

They left the office, and walked back out through the commons toward the south side of the prison. Looking around, she could see lanterns in each of the cells that were occupied, illuminating the faces of the broken witches and wizards that were housed within.

"Soren, can I ask you a question?" she started.

"Yes, you may," he reliped, hesitant.

"Is it wrong for kassings to befriend the prisoners they house? You know, try to change their opinions about life and the decisions they made that landed them here?" she said, looking around at the despair on the prisoners' faces. "These people just look like they need a friend."

"Under normal circumstances, friendships between kassings and prisoners are allowed. However, normal circumstances are limited to the North and East wings, with a few exceptions in the West wing," he said. "For as long as your prisoner has been here, he has only made one request, that he have the Daily Prophet every day."

As he said this, he opened his coat pocket and retrieved the latest issue.

"Would I suggest that you try to cultivate a friendship with Sirius Black?" he asked as they crossed the South entrance. "Under no circumstances."

As they walked down the hall, Zaria saw one cell that had an illuminated lantern. When they passed, Soren left the paper on the ground and kept walking. They stopped at a black door that was at the corner of the South and East wings.

"Here you are. Your things are already inside," he said, smiling. "I hope you have a pleasant night," finished Soren, turning to exit the wing.

She looked at the black wooden door, and tried not to imagine a cell.

"This is your home now, Zee," she said to herself. "Get used to it."

She opened the door, walked inside, and turned to look at the wing one last time.

"Get used to it," she said aloud.

As she began to close the door, she thought she could hear the faint whisper of a man.

"You belong here about as much as I do…"

* * *

><p>an

Thanks for reading again! Sorry this is a lot of filler, but the story needs to be set. Leave your reviews and let me know what you think!

Also, I was thinking of naming every chapter with a word that starts with the letter 'A'. If anyone has any suggestions, please PM them to me! Thank you!

-Katilady


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